Harvest Trilogy

Friday, February 27, 2015

There are those who would argue that animals are dumb and don't know any better, that humans have domain over animals and can use and abuse them however they see fit. These types argue that taking newborns away from their animal mothers doesn't affect them, doesn't cause pain or heartbreak, does no harm. I argue back that the true 'dumb' animals are humans who believe that nonsense. There is documented and empirical evidence that animals not only have very strong bonds to their newborns, the same bonds new mothers have for human babies, but that they know and understand the cruelty of humans. They have the ability to reason, to see clearly that if they have babies, farmers will take those babies away so they must hide their offspring. That is what Clarabelle the dairy cow did.

According to The Dodo, Clarabelle the dairy cow had many babies taken from her, ripped away from mother's love and care because her milk was to go nowhere else except to a tank so that humans can consume it and the farmer can profit. When her milk production went down, the farmer slated her for the slaughterhouse. She was thankfully rescued by animal advocates and taken to a farming sanctuary. It was there she was discovered to be pregnant. When Clarabelle gave birth on February 14th, she hid her baby away from the caregivers in tall grass (she didn't know any difference between the farmer who stole her babies and the ones now intent on keeping her and offspring safe).

The sanctuary caregivers discovered the newborn, and named him Valentine. Still untrusting, Clarabelle moved Valentine to a new hiding spot every day. Animals are intelligent. They feel joy, love, pain, and they become traumatized when abused - just like humans. We do have domain over the animal kingdom, but that domain means a responsibility to care for and protect, not harm and profit. To think otherwise shows we are not even as evolved as the animals that know, understand, and show compassion, often better than most human beings.